Nong Nu Jiao

Yan Chenghui arrived in Dingzhou two days later.

The accompanying imperial physician examined Prince Jingyuan's pulse and confirmed that he was suffering from a high fever and illness.

The post station provided medicine continuously, and after three days, Prince Jingyuan's fever finally subsided, and his pulse stabilized.

Yan Chenghui arranged for him to stay in Dingzhou to recuperate for a few days before going to the capital, while he himself set off on his way back immediately.

The steed galloped towards the capital, kicking up a cloud of yellow dust.

"Your Highness, we've been running all day, and it's getting dark. Why don't we stop and rest for the night, and continue our journey tomorrow?"

Yun Que spurred his horse and chased after him, loudly urging him to stop.

Today, Your Highness set off at dawn and has changed horses four times by now as the sun sets, yet Your Highness shows no sign of stopping.

For lunch, they just ate a few mouthfuls of dry rations on horseback.

Your Highness's back injury has almost healed, but you can't be so careless with your health.

Yan Chenghui remained silent for a moment, continuing to ride forward.

"Your Highness, your health is the most important thing, and the brothers are all exhausted."

Yun Que advised again.

Yan Chenghui glanced back at his subordinates, all of whom looked travel-worn and weary.

Let's rest in Hejian Prefecture.

Yan Chenghui spoke slowly.

"Yes."

The clouds should descend.

We've already entered the market in Shunde Town, so we can rest here for a bit.

It will take at least an hour to ride a horse to get to Hejian.

But since His Highness had made the decision, he dared not object.

The setting sun casts its last rays, and twilight descends.

As the north wind swept across the wilderness in late autumn, Yan Chenghui rode on his horse, his eyes fixed on the distance, his gaze clear and bright.

The journey to Dingzhou took two days, and we stayed at the Dingzhou post station for three days. The return journey will take another two days.

The round trip took a full seven days.

These days, he often thinks of Cen Lingyi's words to him before he left, and the way she looked at him when she spoke to him.

His hand rested on his chest, where his heart felt warm.

She should just keep talking to him nicely and admitting her mistakes obediently, is that not enough?

He was afraid that if he hesitated even a moment longer, she would change again.

He needed to rush back to ask her if she knew she was wrong, if she could promise never to have any contact with Song Mingchi, Lu Huaiyou, or any other men again, and if she would leave him again.

He wanted her to explain!

As the hour of Hai approached, the group finally arrived at Hejian Prefecture.

Hejian was a vital transportation hub connecting the north and south of the capital, a hub of both land and water routes, and a prosperous city.

At this hour, the streets and alleys are still bustling with activity.

"Your Highness, which restaurant would you like to go to?"

Yun Que pointed to the restaurant with the tallest gate tower.

"You decide."

Yan Chenghui glanced at a jewelry shop by the roadside.

Cuihua Jewelry Shop is the largest jewelry store in Hejian.

"You go first, I'll be there in a bit."

He gestured for Yun Que to go first.

Yun Que accepted the order and led everyone away.

Yan Chenghui slowly walked into Cuihua Treasure Shop.

The store is decorated in a dignified and elegant style, with sandalwood antique shelves displaying all kinds of jewelry, including gold and jade hairpins, Hetian jade pendants, and more.

The lights were warm and gentle, and the pearls shimmered with a soft glow.

"Sir, what would you like to see?"

The shopkeeper greeted him with a smile as he entered.

Yan Chenghui remained silent, his gaze fixed on a gold hairpin adorned with peonies.

"Sir, you have excellent taste." The shopkeeper eagerly took out the hairpin and presented it to him with both hands: "This red gold hairpin with overlapping peony petals and pearls is the prized possession of our shop. Is it for your loved one?"

Judging from this gentleman's extraordinary attire, he must be either rich or noble. He took a liking to such expensive jewelry at a glance, so it must be a gift for his beloved girl.

Yan Chenghui nodded slightly, looking down at the gold hairpin in his hand.

This hairpin is made entirely of pure gold, with a blooming peony engraved at the top, its petals fully extended; a fine pearl is set in the center of the flower.

When illuminated by candlelight, it gleamed with golden light, exuding an air of nobility.

The image of Cen Lingyi smiling with her eyebrows curved appeared before his eyes.

She was born a dazzling pearl, her smile bright and flamboyant, naturally suited to luxurious jewelry, vibrant colors, lively and captivating.

Every time he went on a long trip, he would bring her something with him.

A piece of jewelry, a dress, sometimes a book, a local delicacy...

Even after she left, he kept the habit.

Until now.

He gave her the silver, then put the peony hairpin inside his clothes and hid it close to his body.

He couldn't imagine her expression when she saw the hairpin.

It probably won't be a pleasant surprise, after all, things aren't the same between them anymore.

Perhaps she would be frightened by his actions.

Thinking of her wide-eyed surprise, he couldn't help but smile slightly.

When she doesn't make him angry, she's actually quite likable.

*

Cen Lingyi has been traveling downstream on a passenger ship for seven days.

The wide river was shrouded in mist, and the passenger boat sailed smoothly.

The cabins were packed full and bustling with noise.

Cen Lingyi and her three companions usually kept a low profile, rarely moving around, and stayed quietly in the upper-level cabin.

"Yaoyao, come on, shall we have some pear juice?"

Inside the cabin, Cen Lingyi held a white porcelain bowl and gently coaxed the child.

She gave the baby her surname and named him "Chi Yao".

Cen Chi Yao.

The bowl contains juice extracted from a pear using a spoon, meant to soothe the throat.

Cen Chiyao was probably abruptly separated from the old woman who raised him; when she brought him over, he was not in much spirits.

After boarding the ship, the child cried even more frequently. He has stopped crying so much in the last two days, but his voice has become hoarse from crying.

He was being held by Lingzhi and looked at her timidly.

Seeing his listless appearance, Cen Lingyi felt heartbroken and guilty.

If she hadn't failed to protect him and it hadn't taken so long to find him, he wouldn't be in this state now.

"Yao Yao, open your mouth quickly."

Cen Wanrou was also comforting her from the side.

Cen Chiyao timidly opened his mouth.

"Good girl."

Cen Lingyi fed him a bite, then took a handkerchief to wipe his lips, but couldn't help thinking of Yan Huaijiao.

I wonder how the little one is doing? Has he learned to walk already?

He must have cried when she left with Lingzhi.

He was stubborn; he cried day and night when he couldn't find her, and he kept crying even when his voice was hoarse.

But he's getting older now. In less than a month, he'll be one year old. He probably won't cry as much as he did when he was little, right?

Besides, isn't there Yan Chenghui?

Yan Chenghui hugged him, and he didn't cry.

"Little sister? I'll feed her."

Cen Wanrou called to her.

Cen Lingyi snapped out of her daze and quickly said, "I'll do it."

She fed Cen Chiyao another bite.

"What are you thinking about?"

Cen Wanrou could tell that she had something on her mind.

"I was wondering how His Highness is doing."

Cen Lingyi sat down next to Lingzhi and sighed inwardly.

She thought she would always miss Yan Chenghui.

She does indeed think of him often.

But she didn't expect that the person she couldn't let go of the most was the child she had raised since childhood.

Whenever she thinks of Yan Huaijiao, her heart aches, and she always feels an urge to cry.

I toss and turn at night, unable to sleep, and I worry about whether he can eat and sleep well.

What will he do if he leaves her?

"He is the eldest son of the Crown Prince, and many people dote on him, so you don't need to worry about him too much."

Cen Wanrou gently comforted her.

"Um."

Cen Lingyi nodded and smiled at her.

How could she not know?

Along the way, she had told herself this countless times, but she just couldn't stop thinking about that child.

Perhaps it's because, before finding Chi Yao, she had devoted all her attention to that child, and had already regarded him as her own.

"Come here, let Mommy hug you, okay?"

After successfully feeding him half a bowl of pear juice, Cen Lingyi put down the bowl, leaned down, and gently asked to hug him.

The child was thinner than Yan Huaijiao, with delicate features, and she couldn't tell who he resembled.

"Come here, Mommy's going to hug you."

Lingzhi lifted Cen Chiyao, intending to hand him over to her.

When Cen Chiyao saw Cen Lingyi reach out, he immediately retreated in a panic, clutching Lingzhi's sleeve tightly and hiding in her arms.

Cen Lingyi slowly withdrew her hand, her heart feeling both bitter and heavy.

I blame myself for not being there for him as he grew up, which is why he's ended up like this today.

"For the past few days, it was the young lady who fed the young master herbal medicine. He's probably tired of suffering, that's why he's like this."

Lingzhi, fearing she would be upset, quickly offered words of comfort.

"Yes," Cen Wanrou said, "Children will feel this way when they are suddenly separated from familiar people."

"Lingyi, don't be sad. This child is still young. He wandered around when he was young, and you and I are strangers to him. In the future, you and your son will be together day and night. As time goes by, he will definitely become closer to you."

Song Mingchi happened to walk in and saw this scene, and offered words of comfort.

He looked away, not daring to look directly at Cen Lingyi.

I couldn't bear to see her so heartbroken, so I forced myself not to reveal the secret that the child wasn't hers at all.

If the truth were told, she would break down.

"It's alright, I just feel a little sorry for him."

Cen Lingyi smiled.

From now on, she will cherish him, love him, and protect him as he grows up.

They are mother and son, so they will naturally be close.

"Where are we?"

She glanced out the window; outside was the surging Huai River.

"We'll be at Huaiyuan Ferry at the end of the Huai River soon." Song Mingchi waved, and Fang Zhuo came in carrying clothes: "I've prepared a few sets of clothes, Lingzhi, please change into them. We're getting ready to disembark."

When you reach the end of the Huai River, the waterway ends, and the only way to go west is by land.

"You want Lingzhi to dress as a man?"

Cen Lingyi took the clothes and recognized them at a glance, so she couldn't help but ask him.

"That's right." Song Mingchi explained, "If there are roadblocks on the road, two men and two women are unlikely to arouse their suspicion."

"Good idea."

Cen Lingyi praised him and handed the clothes to Lingzhi.

She gave Cen Chiyao a pastry, and this time, she finally managed to hug him.

He didn't feel as heavy as Yan Huaijiao's when I held him, and he didn't move around much, making him easy to hug.

On the shore, Song Mingchi had already arranged for a donkey cart with a gray cloth canopy to be prepared.

Instead of taking the main road, the group traveled westward along country lanes.

The scenery of the water towns along the Huai River gradually faded away, and what lay before us was a continuous expanse of dense forest, with withered autumn grass covering the ground.

Cen Lingyi leaned against the window, gazing at this unfamiliar land with a sense of wonder.

The scenery and landscape of the western mountains and fields are completely different from those of the capital.

The sky is high and the clouds are light, the wilderness is vast.

Meanwhile, Yan Chenghui traveled day and night to reach the capital.

He did not immediately go to the palace to report his trip to Dingzhou, but instead rode his horse into the East Palace.

Travel-worn and dusty, he didn't bother to wash or change his clothes before heading straight into the side hall.

He told her before he left that she should stay quietly in the side hall and not go out unless necessary.

Before even entering the door, one could hear Yan Huaijiao's hoarse sobs.

He paused, realizing something was wrong.